"Ah..." moaned a girl, unabashedly letting out a sigh of pleasure as another girl massaged her back; the blonde girl's hair was tied up in a bun so it wouldn't cover her back. "…This is the first time I've learned that there's a Fable who's so good at massaging; if I'd known sooner, we'd definitely have become good friends," murmured the girl lying face-down on a bed that wasn't even hers.
"E-Even though your body's stiff, your skin's so smooth," praised the masseuse—even though her own skin was far smoother than mine. Hearing her praise me like that actually sounded like a taunt, but I had no desire to respond sarcastically as her fingers kneaded my shoulders and washed away all the pent-up fatigue in my body.
All the fatigue I'd accumulated over the last three weeks was instantly swept away. "Can I have your number? I'd like to get in touch if I want another massage—" I asked, but was cut off immediately as he massaged a spot that was both excruciatingly painful and incredibly pleasurable. "…You're really good at this, Snowie"
The girl with light grey hair was taken aback, causing her to accidentally pinch my shoulder too hard. "Just call me Snow..." She seemed to be protesting, but her tone suggested she didn't actually mind.
"What's the matter? Snowie is a mix of Snow and Cutie, you know," I joked, but that was my biggest mistake because the pleasurable massage instantly turned into torture as her snow-white hands massaged far too hard, making me scream in pain. "Ouch, ouch, for heaven's sake, that hurts!"
"A-Ah! I'm so sorry!" She immediately eased off the pressure on the sore spot and carried on massaging as usual. I sighed in relief, yet was also puzzled by this girl's behaviour—she could either relieve my tiredness or make it worse, but her massage felt so good that I put up with it.
The girl with bright blue eyes like ice was Snow White. When I complained about my aches and pains—she straight away introduced me to this girl, who turned out to be a Fable as well—and on top of that, she was one of the people who'd managed to defeat Miralda the Envy, which left me quite impressed with her. The only thing lacking about her was her awkward and shy nature, which was sometimes frustrating but could also be endearing.
Whilst having a massage, we exchanged stories so that we could get to know each other better, and perhaps I might get a discount later on. However, I never expected to hear such a shocking story. "So you're telling me that Mirabelle—that beautiful, sexy, and captivating singer—is also a Fable whose powers allow her to charm anything she wants?" I asked to confirm, and Snow answered with a nod.
"I might give her a call."
"Huh? Do you have her number, Alice?"
"She is gorgeous, mind you, but I'm just as pretty as her, aren't I?"
"M-Mhm, yes!"
"At least don't sound like you're forcing it."
"No, I'm not!"
This girl is so easy to tease; she seems like she'd be great to work with—I thought to myself whilst her fingers were still skilfully massaging my body. Half an hour later, my body, legs, arms and every part of me felt much lighter than before; I felt as though I could fly without the help of my Everafter.
After I'd put my clothes back on, I saw Snow standing there awkwardly, as if at a loss as to what to say or do—I walked over to her and was about to pay her, but when my hand touched the pocket of my overall dress, I could only feel air coming out—I'd forgotten to bring my wallet.
In that case, I had no choice but to pass this responsibility on to someone else. "A-As for the payment, you can just ask Mother, all right?" I replied, trying not to sound suspicious or nervous.
"Oh, no need. You've already defeated one of the members of The Seven Sins as well as The Hanged Man from The False Epilogue," she said, her blue eyes fixed on the floor and her thumbs rubbing against one another. "And… and…" She wanted to add one more thing, but her face was already as red as a tomato from sheer embarrassment.
She bowed her head even lower, but from her right hand a bluish-white light emerged and formed a hand puppet—a dwarf wearing a blue nightcap, with a thick beard and spectacles sewn onto his ears. "Sorry, I'll take over—Snow really admires you for that," I couldn't help but feel amused by the absurdity before me.
My hand reached out and gently stroked the dwarf's head. "All right, tell him I admire his massage skills too." Hearing this, not only did the hand puppet's head lift, but the girl's head followed suit. "You have such a sweet face, you know. Don't keep chatting to people through this ancient, decrepit dwarf puppet."
My blue eyes glanced back at the dwarf, who had stepped forward as if taking offence. "What a pity, Miss Alice, but I'm a puppet—I can't grow old, and oh, Snow said not to call her 'sweet'," the puppet replied in a tone she was trying to keep calm.
"Hm? Why? She really is sweet, you know."
"I'd told you not to call her that."
"Sweet~"
"Stop it!"
"She's got a smile that, it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memories… Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky—sweet child o' mine, sweet love of mine."
"Why are you singing?!"
My blue eyes glanced over to see Snow trying her hardest to stifle her laughter; both hands were covering her mouth and tears were welling up—I hadn't expected it to be that funny; if so, perhaps I'll consider becoming a stand-up comedian.
We stepped out of the guest room and I immediately spotted two people who hadn't been there before—Romeo and Juliet, a couple sitting close together; the girl's arm was draped around the man's, whose eyes lit up the moment he saw me. "ALICE! It's been ages—how are you?" he waved, along with Juliet.
I walked over and saw Robin sitting there, enjoying his coffee and the book in his hand; I decided to sit beside him, whilst Snow chose to stand next to Mother, who was watching all this as if we were a family finally gathered together on Christmas Day.
"I'm fine," I replied to Romeo, my eyes falling upon their clasped hands. "And it looks like you're both doing brilliantly, doesn't it?" I glanced at the girl wearing a black eye patch over her left eye.
Romeo laughed at that. "Y-Yeah, that's about right—a lot's been going on," he said, scratching his neck with his left hand, whilst Juliet pressed herself closer and her hand, clad in a black glove, gripped Romeo's arm tightly—I don't actually have a problem with people being affectionate, but seeing them get all lovey-dovey in a place where there was no one else around but them was getting on my nerves.
As if she could read my mind, Mother suddenly cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Juliet, isn't there something you'd like to say to us all?" Hearing this, Juliet let out a sigh of exasperation and pulled her hand away before walking over to Mother's right-hand side and folding her hands.
"Right, everyone's here now, I'll keep it brief because I've got a date with Romy after this," Juliet began, but I could barely stifle a laugh at the nickname for Romeo—I really couldn't stand being here; I wanted to leave as soon as possible. "First of all, as you've all heard—I've left The Seven Sins and decided to side with you lot."
Her eyes glanced in my direction and towards Robin, as we were the ones who hadn't been there on the day she left the team. "Perhaps some of you don't trust me, but I'd be delighted if you could accept me here,"
"I've also heard from Mother that you managed to defeat Davy Jones and also… Captain Hook; I don't know him very well, but from what I've heard, I have the utmost respect for him. Congratulations to you all."
"Defeating one of the members of The False Epilogue is a huge achievement, because their abilities are absolutely insane, having been enhanced by 'Bad Ending'."
"Now, only three members of The Seven Sins remain: Hansel and Gretty—I mean, Gretel—and, oh, not to forget, Rip Van Winkle."
The atmosphere turned serious again; Robin had put her book down and all eyes were fixed on the girl with eyes as red as rubies. My gaze, however, was not on her but on Mother—she'd previously been killed by this man, Rip Van Winkle.
I raised my hand and immediately caught Juliet's attention. "Yes, what is it, Alice?" Every time she called my name, my heart felt pierced by just how much she resembled Red.
"Could you explain who this Rip Van Winkle is? If he could kill Mother, that means he's very powerful, doesn't it?" I asked, but Juliet herself seemed to be pondering it; could it be that her knowledge and understanding of this man were also limited?
"... His Everafter is a musket, and his ability allows him to vanish—or, more accurately, to camouflage himself with his surroundings—unfortunately, that's all I know," Juliet explained, and from her body language, I could tell she wasn't lying.
"Mother, have your abilities returned yet?" I asked again, and that made the woman with thick green hair let out a long sigh whilst shaking her head.
"I still can't use any of my abilities relating to Fables, but my intuitive understanding of people is back—if that's any help," replied Mother; even after nearly a month, her abilities hadn't returned, although she'd said at the time it would only take a few weeks.
Juliet then continued, bringing all attention back to her. "But you don't need to worry about old man Rip for now; the twins, Hansel and Gretel, are far more important to consider." My eyebrows shot up when I heard that.
"And why is that?" I felt that Juliet was about to drop a bombshell that would shock everyone; in my mind, I'd already run through numerous possibilities of what she might say so I could prepare myself—I didn't want a repeat of what happened yesterday when I heard that Romeo and Juliet were dating.
"Actually, I'm not supposed to know this; I overheard Gretty muttering it in her sleep…" She began to explain. I found myself wondering how Juliet could possibly know what Gretel mumbled whilst asleep—but this wasn't the right time to ask that.
"They aren't Fables…"
"But they've become Fairytales."